“The public’s outrage and questions about this are well-founded and reflect my own concerns. I’m biting my tongue, frankly, because this incident raises obvious questions that would shake any reasonable person’s confidence in the institutions we trust to protect us. We need answers, and more importantly, we need to make whatever changes are necessary so that this doesn’t happen again.
“I am asking the Governor and the DSHS Secretary for an immediate suspension of off-institution activities for individuals on forensic detention as well as a thorough investigation and review of this specific incident, the nature of the internal response, and appropriate corrective or disciplinary actions if indeed they are warranted.
“My unforgiving views on issues surrounding offender re-entry, early release, admissibility of evidence and statutes of limitations for sex offenders is well-known. That this occurred was wrong and unacceptable. That we take measures to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again is essential.
“Let me be clear — nothing is more important than public safety. We don’t need a witch hunt or a scapegoating of someone just to make people feel good. What we need is to take any and all actions necessary to protect the public from people clearly identified as threats to the public.”